1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of electronic communication and data processing. More specifically, embodiments of the present invention relate to methods and systems for wireless communication of information including electronic mail messages and other data.
2. Related Art
As the components required to build a computer system have reduced in size, new categories of portable electronic devices and computer systems have emerged. One of the new categories is the “palmtop” computer system. A palmtop computer system is a computer that is small enough to be held in the hand of a user and can therefore be “palm-sized.” Most palmtop computer systems are used to implement various Personal Information Management (PIM) applications such as an address book, a daily organizer (calendar, datebook, etc.) and electronic notepads, to name a few. Palmtop computers with PIM software have been known as Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs). Many PDAs have a small and flat display screen associated therewith. Moreover, PDAs and cell phone technology are being integrated together resulting in a single intelligent device that provides wireless communication capability.
User convenience and device value are very important factors for portable electronic devices and systems that may include portable electronic devices. Typically, portable electronic devices are employed while the user is on the run, e.g., in business meetings, on business travel, personal travel, in a vehicle, on foot, etc. Because the user may be occupied or busy while using the portable electronic device, the number of user steps or user tasks required to access information from an electronic device (or to store information into the electronic device) is crucial for producing a commercially successful product. That is, the more difficult it is to access data from an electronic device, the less likely the user will perform those tasks to obtain the information. Likewise, the easier information is to obtain, the more likely the portable electronic device will be used to obtain that information and the more likely the portable electronic device will become a part of the user's everyday activities. Similarly, the more useful the device, the more the device will be used and acquired.
The portability and convenience of palmtops have made it increasingly desirable to increase the number and types of applications that can run on them. It is advantageous to expand the capabilities of a palmtop so that it can provide many of the same, if not the same, services provided by a desktop or laptop computer system, particularly with regard to access to the World Wide Web. As such, information currently available via the Internet using personal computers, such as on-line access to news and financial information, can also be provided via a palmtop. In addition, a palmtop can be used for electronic mail (“email”) and multi-player gaming, and features such as voice recognition can also be added.
The modes of operation for obtaining email messages on a portable wireless device need to be improved. For instance, today, wireless device users employ a “pull” technique to obtain their wireless email and other messages and data. Using the pull technique, while in the off state, the user will raise an antenna on the wireless device, or otherwise power on the device, and an application on the device is invoked which connects the device to a server over a wireless communication network. The server is typically connected to the Internet. Once connected, the server checks if any email messages for the user have been received. If so, the user is given the opportunity to download the messages to the wireless device. If no messages are on the server, the user is given a message. The technique is a “pull” technique because the user needs to initiate the process to download the emails on each attempt.
Unfortunately, the processes are very time consuming of powering on the device, invoking the email message application, connecting to the server, the server checking for email messages and notifying the user. To exacerbate this situation, most often the user has no messages to download after performing the above time consuming pull process. This leads to user tedium. As a result, many users do not frequently perform the above pull process. What is needed is a more user convenient mechanism for users of wireless devices to receive email and other messages from a remote server.
In addition, when the server downloads an email message, the entire content of the message is received by the wireless device. Most wireless communication network companies charge the user by the amount of content transmitted over the wireless communication network. Therefore, if the user was not particularly interested in the email message, they are forced to pay for its download because the message was not able to be inspected until after it was entirely received. What is further needed is a mechanism for reducing the wireless communication costs of receiving email and other messages by a wireless device.